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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

TECHNICAL, BUSINESS, AND LEGAL DIMENSIONS OF PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM PORNOGRAPHY ON THE INTERNET

PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP

Committee to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids from Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

National Research Council

Board on Children, Youth, and Families

Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

The study of which this workshop report was a part was supported by Grant No. 1999-JN-FX-0071 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education; Grant No. P0073380 between the National Academy of Sciences and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; awards (unnumbered) from the Microsoft Corporation and IBM; and National Research Council funds. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the symposium presenters and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.

International Standard Book Number 0-309-08326-5

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Copyright 2002 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

National Academy of Sciences

National Academy of Engineering

Institute of Medicine

National Research Council

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

COMMITTEE TO STUDY TOOLS AND STRATEGIES FOR PROTECTING KIDS FROM PORNOGRAPHY AND THEIR APPLICABILITY TO OTHER INAPPROPRIATE INTERNET CONTENT

RICHARD THORNBURGH,

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP,

Chair

NICHOLAS J. BELKIN,

Rutgers University

WILLIAM J. BYRON,

Holy Trinity Parish

SANDRA L. CALVERT,

Georgetown University

DAVID FORSYTH,

University of California at Berkeley

DANIEL GEER,

@Stake

LINDA HODGE,

Parent Teacher Association

MARILYN GELL MASON,

Independent Consultant

MILO MEDIN,

Excite@Home

JOHN B. RABUN,

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

ROBIN RASKIN,

FamilyPC Magazine

ROBERT SCHLOSS,

IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

JANET WARD SCHOFIELD,

University of Pittsburgh

GEOFFREY R. STONE,

University of Chicago

WINIFRED B. WECHSLER,

Independent Consultant

Staff

HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist and Study Director

GAIL PRITCHARD, Program Officer (through June 2001)

LAURA OST, Consultant

JOAH G. IANOTTA, Research Assistant

JANICE SABUDA, Senior Project Assistant

DANIEL D. LLATA, Senior Project Assistant (through May 2001)

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD

DAVID D. CLARK,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

Chair

DAVID BORTH,

Motorola Labs

JAMES CHIDDIX,

AOL Time Warner

JOHN M. CIOFFI,

Stanford University

ELAINE COHEN,

University of Utah

W. BRUCE CROFT,

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

THOMAS E. DARCIE,

AT&T Labs Research

JOSEPH FARRELL,

University of California at Berkeley

JEFFREY M. JAFFE,

Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies

ANNA KARLIN,

University of Washington

BUTLER W. LAMPSON,

Microsoft Corporation

EDWARD D. LAZOWSKA,

University of Washington

DAVID LIDDLE,

U.S. Venture Partners

TOM M. MITCHELL,

Carnegie Mellon University

DONALD NORMAN,

Nielsen Norman Group

DAVID A. PATTERSON,

University of California at Berkeley

HENRY (HANK) PERRITT,

Illinois Institute of Technology

BURTON SMITH,

Cray Inc.

TERRY SMITH,

University of California at Santa Barbara

LEE SPROULL,

New York University

JEANNETTE M. WING,

Carnegie Mellon University

Staff

MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Director

HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist

ALAN S. INOUYE, Senior Program Officer

JON EISENBERG, Senior Program Officer

LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Program Officer

CYNTHIA PATTERSON, Program Officer

STEVEN WOO, Program Officer

JANET BRISCOE, Administrative Officer

DAVID PADGHAM, Research Associate

MARGARET HUYNH, Senior Project Assistant

DAVID DRAKE, Senior Project Assistant

JANICE SABUDA, Senior Project Assistant

JENNIFER BISHOP, Senior Project Assistant

BRANDYE WILLIAMS, Staff Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

BOARD ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES

EVAN CHARNEY,

University of Massachusetts Medical School,

Chair

JAMES A. BANKS,

University of Washington

DONALD COHEN,

Yale University

THOMAS DEWITT,

Children’s Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati

MARY JANE ENGLAND,

Washington Business Group on Health

MINDY FULLILOVE,

Columbia University

PATRICIA GREENFIELD,

University of California at Los Angeles

RUTH T. GROSS,

Stanford University

KEVIN GRUMBACH,

University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco General Hospital

NEAL HALFON,

University of California at Los Angeles School of Public Health

MAXINE HAYES,

Washington State Department of Health

MARGARET HEAGARTY,

Columbia University

RENÉE R. JENKINS,

Howard University

HARRIET KITZMAN,

University of Rochester

SANDERS KORENMAN,

Baruch College, City University of New York

HON. CINDY LEDERMAN,

Juvenile Justice Center, Dade County, Florida

VONNIE McLOYD,

University of Michigan

GARY SANDEFUR,

University of Wisconsin-Madison

ELIZABETH SPELKE,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

RUTH STEIN,

Montefiore Medical Center

Liaisons

ELEANOR E. MACCOBY (Liaison, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education),

Department of Psychology (emeritus), Stanford University

WILLIAM ROPER (Liaison, IOM Council),

Institute of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Staff

MICHELE D. KIPKE, Director (through September 2001)

MARY GRAHAM, Associate Director, Dissemination and Communications

SONJA WOLFE, Administrative Associate

ELENA NIGHTINGALE, Scholar-in-Residence

JOAH G. IANNOTTA, Research Assistant

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

Preface

In response to a mandate from Congress in conjunction with the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998, the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) and the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine established the Committee to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids from Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content.

To collect input and to disseminate useful information to the nation on this question, the committee held two public workshops. On December 13, 2000, in Washington, D.C., the committee convened a workshop to focus on nontechnical strategies that could be effective in a broad range of settings (e.g., home, school, libraries) in which young people might be online. This workshop brought together researchers, educators, policy makers, and other key stakeholders to consider and discuss these approaches and to identify some of the benefits and limitations of various nontechnical strategies. The December workshop is summarized in Nontechnical Strategies to Reduce Children’s Exposure to Inappropriate Material on the Internet: Summary of a Workshop.1

1  

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, Nontechnical Strategies to Reduce Children’s Exposure to Inappropriate Material on the Internet: Summary of a Workshop, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board and Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Joah G. Iannotta, ed., Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2001.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

The second workshop was held on March 7, 2001, in Redwood City, California. This second workshop focused on some of the technical, business, and legal factors that affect how one might choose to protect kids from pornography on the Internet. The present report provides, in the form of edited transcripts, the presentations at that workshop. Obviously, because the report reflects the presentations on that day, it is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all of the technical, business, and legal issues that might be relevant to this subject. All views expressed in this report are those of the speaker (who sometimes is a member of the study committee speaking for himself or herself). Most importantly, this report should not be construed as representing the views of the Committee to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids from Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content; the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board; the Board on Children, Youth, and Families; the National Research Council; or the Institute of Medicine.

The report contains 17 chapters, each of which is essentially an edited transcript of the various briefings to the committee during the workshop. Questions and comments from the audience and committee members are included as footnotes. The first four chapters are devoted to the basics of information retrieval and searching. The next three (Chapters 5-7) address some of the technology and business dimensions of filtering, the process through which certain types of putatively objectionable content are blocked from display on a user’s screen. Two chapters (Chapters 8-9) then address technical and infrastructural dimensions of authentication— the process of proving that one is who one asserts to be. The next three chapters (Chapters 10-12) address automated approaches to negotiating individualized policy preferences and dealing with issues of intellectual property (and preventing unauthorized parties from viewing protected material). Chapter 13 addresses the problems associated with a dot-xxx domain for “cordoning off” sexually explicit material on the Internet. Chapters 14-16 cover various issues associated with business models for the Internet, and the final chapter, Chapter 17, discusses one legal scholar’s perspective on regulating sexually explicit material on the Internet.

Gail Pritchard was largely responsible for assembling the speakers at this workshop, and Laura Ost generated the first draft of the report.

This report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review com-

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×

ments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.

We thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of these workshop proceedings:

William Aspray, Computing Research Association,

Hinrich Schütze, Novation Biosciences, and

Frederick Weingarten, American Library Association.

Although these individuals reviewed the report, they were not asked to endorse it, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Peter Blair of the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.

Herbert S. Lin, Senior Scientist and Study Director

Computer Science and Telecommunications Board

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
This page in the original is blank.
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Page xiii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. 2002. Technical, Business, and Legal Dimensions of Protecting Children from Pornography on the Internet: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10324.
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In response to a mandate from Congress in conjunction with the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998, the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) and the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine established the Committee to Study Tools and Strategies for Protecting Kids from Pornography and Their Applicability to Other Inappropriate Internet Content.

To collect input and to disseminate useful information to the nation on this question, the committee held two public workshops. On December 13, 2000, in Washington, D.C., the committee convened a workshop to focus on nontechnical strategies that could be effective in a broad range of settings (e.g., home, school, libraries) in which young people might be online. This workshop brought together researchers, educators, policy makers, and other key stakeholders to consider and discuss these approaches and to identify some of the benefits and limitations of various nontechnical strategies. The December workshop is summarized in Nontechnical Strategies to Reduce Children's Exposure to Inappropriate Material on the Internet: Summary of a Workshop. The second workshop was held on March 7, 2001, in Redwood City, California. This second workshop focused on some of the technical, business, and legal factors that affect how one might choose to protect kids from pornography on the Internet. The present report provides, in the form of edited transcripts, the presentations at that workshop.

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